Weekend Cooking- Vacation in Barbados

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We made our annual vacation trek to Barbados last week with my husband's brother and his wife, and once again it was a relaxing, fantastic week. We even got a bonus day due to the snowstorm that socked in NYC! (I know, aww, poor us.)

This time instead of staying at the Hilton Resort, we rented a villa right on the beach and this was the way to go. It was a gorgeous home, with a huge veranda, private pool, hot tub, a gazebo overlooking the sea and a private entrance to the beautiful beach.

Looking out from our veranda

A private cook came with the villa, and Darlene cooked us breakfast and lunch most days. Each morning we had scrambled eggs and bacon with fresh fruit and it was the perfect way to start our days.

We asked her what was the one dish that her children asked to make, and when she said chicken and rice, we asked her to make it for us. Boy, was it delicious! She marinated the chicken in lime juice, salt and pepper, then breaded it and fried it on the stove top.

It was the best fried chicken I ever had! It didn't taste greasy at all, just juicy and full of flavor. She added beans and pigeon peas to the rice, and made a sauce that my husband his brother raved about. Darlene's homemade coleslaw and a fresh salad rounded out the fabulous meal.

Darlene's lunch

This disappeared off my plate pretty quickly

If you visit Barbados, going to Oistins Fish Fry on Fridays is a must. We always wait in line at Uncle George's for our meal of grilled shrimp and mahi mahi, with grilled potatoes and macaroni pie. It is the freshest, most simply prepared and most delicious fish you will ever eat.

Everyone sits at picnic tables, and you will always meet someone interesting to chat with while you eat. You can wander the shop stalls and get some souvenirs (I got a cross necklace) and watch the guys playing dominoes. We look forward to this every year.

The crowd at Uncle George's

Our delicious meals at Uncle George's

The guys playing dominoes

Working the grill at Uncle George's

There are so many wonderful restaurants in Barbados, and we visited an old favorite, The Tides, and tried a few new ones. Scarlet is a tiny restaurant in a small building that you might pass by if you didn't know any better.

The interior decor is red walls with reproductions of Andy Warhol's iconic paintings of Jackie Kennedy along one wall and Marilyn Monroe along the opposite wall. The presentation of each plate was as wonderful as the food itself. The appetizers were particularly good, with the sesame prawn toast with a sweet and sour dipping sauce and crusted and panko crusted chicken strips with pesto mayo the big hits.

The sesame prawn toast presentation at Scarlet

The other new place we tried is a restaurant new to the island- Cin Cin. It has a very Miami Beach vibe, all sleek glass and white walls. It is gorgeous! We ate out on the terrace, right on the water. The service was impeccable, and the food was amazing.  I had the crabcake appetizer, which was fabulous. Three of us had the mahi mahi special, poached over linguine with shaved zucchini, cherry tomatoes and asparagus. The fish was so tender, it melted in your mouth. Our specialty cocktails were rather enjoyable too.

Cin Cin, from their website

Mahi Mahi over linguine at Cin Cin

Crab cakes at Cin Cin

I highly recommend visiting Barbados if you have never been; the weather is always a perfect 84 degrees, the view is spectacular and the food is top notch.